LAS VEGAS – If Ann Wolfe can get James Kirkland to fight 99 mph instead of 100 mph, it will make him one of boxing’s most devastating punchers and put emergency rooms on notice.

“Once he settles down just a tiny bit he’s going to be able to start knocking their wig all the way off and sending people to the hospital,” Wolfe said of Kirkland, an unbeaten junior middleweight. “He’s starting to develop and grow. We’re going to start sending them to the hospital like the old school.”

She meant that, too.

Kirkland gets his chance to impress Saturday night when the Austin, Texas, native, fights Brian Vera of “Contender” fame. They’ll meet in a 10-round middleweight bout on HBO before Ricky Hatton and Paulie Malignaggi fight for the junior welterweight title.

Kirkland, 24, is a potential star in the making. He is 23-0 with 20 knockouts. Seven of his knockouts have come in the first round, and 18 KOs were in three rounds or less. A southpaw who moves forward, he has a crowd-pleasing style that’s willing to take a few to land a few.

“A lot of people are scared to get out there and throw,” Kirkland said. “I’m not one of them. I come with a certain game plan and I do what I do.”

Kirkland is trained in Austin by Wolfe, perhaps the hardest puncher in the history of women’s boxing. The game plan is simple: Seek and destroy.

“A lot of the fighters come to look pretty and talk,” Wolfe said. “But James is like I am. I came to fight. I came to rip your head off. That’s what we do.”

Vera (16-1, 10 KOs) will be Kirkland’s toughest test to date. Some boxing insiders are even questioning why Kirkland and his new promoter, Golden Boy, are risking a fight with Vera. The Fort Worth, Texas, native scored a stunning upset of previously unbeaten middleweight Andy Lee last March. Vera also fights comfortably at 164 to 168 pounds; Kirkland has spent much of his time around 154 pounds.

Bigger opponent or not, 5-foot-9 Kirkland will attack in what Wolfe hopes will be a controlled aggression.

“Sometimes if you try to slow a fighter down you mess him up,” said Wolfe, who operates a gym in Austin. “James is like a horse that’s ready to come out of the gate. So you’ve got to let him do what he do.”

Wolfe bristles at critics who suggest Kirkland will shorten his career because of his style.

“Why will that style lead to a short career when he’s not getting beat up?” Wolfe said. “Sugar Ray Robinson fought like that. Marvin Hagler fought like that. All the great fighters fought like that and some of them fought 100 fights. He is a throwback.”